Clamping device



Dec. 9, 1969 H. D. wrr'r 3,482,868

CLAMPING DEVICE Filed Nov. 30, 1967 INVENTOR. H. Duane Witt United States Patent 3,482,868 CLAMPING DEVICE Harold D. Witt, Farmington, N. Mex. (717 W. Mahoney, Winslow, Ariz. 86047) Filed Nov. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 687,016 Int. Cl. A473 45/10, 49/14 US. Cl. 294-509 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention relates to a device for clamping and holding material objects, which device comprises in general a pair of opposed clamping jaws, one of which is attached to an elongated handle with an actuating means connecting the pivot jaw to the handle so that the pivot jaw can be opened and closed and locked in position.

This invention relates to a clamping device for holding articles, such as hot plates or soiled clothing while they are being manipulated. In particular, my invention comprises a new and novel clamping device adapted to clamp and hold articles such as hot plates, soiled clothing or soiled diapers so that the user is not required to handle them directly.

In the past, many and varied types of tongs and clamping devices have been invented for the purpose of eliminating the need for directly handling the item clamped. These devices have been found not suitable for their intended purpose because they are too complicated, or they do not hold the article sufificiently tight for the manipulations required or they have too many parts to be maintained in a sanitary condition.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a simple clamping device with a minimum of parts and adapted to hold the article tightly while it is being manipulated.

In general, my invention comprises an elongated clamping device with a pair of jaws on one end, an elongated handle of a suitable length on the other end, and actuating mechanism for opening and closing the jaws, and a locking mechanism which will retain the jaws in a closed position during the holding operation.

Other objects, advantages and novel features of my invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of my invention;

FIG. 2 is a detailed View of the locking mechanism comprising a part of my invention;

FIG. 3 is a detailed view of the clamping jaws comprising a part of my invention and the actuating mechanism for those jaws;

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the compression spring arrangement connecting the actuating mechanism comprising a part of my invention with the locking device.

Referring now to the drawings, wherein like numerals represent like parts of my invention, it will be seen that my invention comprises a handle grip 1, locking device 2, pivot means 3, first connector 4, compression spring 5, second connector 6, cantilever spring 7, pivot means 8, lever arm 9, clamping jaws and elongated handle 11. Handle grip 1 is connected to clamping jaws 10 by means of elongated handle 11 which may be of any convenient length, or its length may be adjustable.

Clamping jaws 10 are opened and closed by lever arm 9 of the actuating mechanism which is in turn controlled by locking mechanism 2 in a manner to be hereinafter described. A cantilever spring 7 is interposed between handle 11 and lever arm 9, and it engages lever arm 9 to bias clamping jaws 10 in the open position. Lever arm 9 pivots in a slot in elongated handle 11 by any suitable pivot means, such as pivot means 8.

Locking device 2 is connected to lever arm 9 by connectors 4 and 6 which are in turn connected together by compression spring 5. Lever arm 2 is connected to and pivots on handle 11 by any suitable pivot means, such as pivot means 3. Connector 4 is bifurcated at its end nearest locking device 2 and attached thereto on either side of elongated handle 11. The points of attachment of the bifurcated ends of connector 4 to locking device 2 are designed so that when locking device 2 is aligned with the longitudinal axis of handle 11 the points of attachment of connector 4 to locking device 2 are below the longitudinal axis of handle 11 so that the action of spring 5 and connector 4 biases locking device 2 in its closed position. That portion of lever arm 2 which extends to handle grip 1 is sufficiently long that the user can hold locking device 2 down while holding handle grip 1 while the device is in use thus preventing unintentional opening of the lever arm 2 against the pressure of compression spring 4.

Referring now to FIG. 3 it will be seen that cantilever spring 7 attached in handle 11 exerts a constant upward pressure on lever arm 9 tending to bias lever arm 9 to open clamping jaws 10. Thus unless locking device 2 is in the locked position jaws 10 will remain open due to the coaction of lever arm 9 and cantilever spring 7. In the event locking device 2 is released from its alignment with the longitudinal axis of handle 11 the action of compression spring 5 along with the action of leaf spring 7 will immediately cause clamping jaws 10 to open and release any object being held within the jaws. corrugations as shown in FIGS. 1 and 3 may be provided on the clamping surface of clamping jaws 10 to aid in holding an obiect therein.

It will be seen from the above description that the user will be able to pick up an article which he desires to hold for any purpose, such as rinsing and cleaning soiled clothing, between clamping jaws 10 and lock the jaws in closed position so long as necessary without ever having to touch the article. When the user desires to release the article from clamping jaws 10 he has only to lift locking device 2 from its alignment with handle 11 and it will immediately pivot upward by the action of compression spring 5 and leaf spring 7 to open clamping jaws 10 and thus avoid the user to having come in close contact with the item being held.

Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is, therefore, to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.

What is claimed is:

1. In a clamping device, the combination comprising:

a pair of clamping jaws, each having a clamping surface adapted to engage the clamping surface of the other;

an elongated handle having a first and a second end,

said first end being attached to one of said pair of clamping jaws, and said second end having a hand grip thereon;

actuating means pivotally connected proximate to the first end of said elongated handle and fixedly attached to said pair of clamping jaws for opening and closing them, said actuating means comprising a lever arm fixedly attached to one of said pair of clamping jaws and pivotally attached to said elongated handle and spring means interposed between said lever arm and said elongated handle, whereby said lever arm is biased to open said pair of clamping jaws; locking means attached to said elongated handle pro-ximate to said hand grip and connected to said actuating means for locking said clamping jaws in the closed position;

whereby an article may be held and manipulated by the clamping device without the user having to touch 1t.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1, including:

connecting means for connecting said actuating means to said locking means;

said connecting means comprising a first and a second connector and a coil spring means;

said first connector having a first and a second end, said first end being connected to said actuating means, and said second end being connected to said coil spring means;

said second connector having a first and a second end; said first end being connected to said locking means and said second end being connected to said coil spring means;

whereby a tension force is applied to said first and said second connectors by said coil spring means when it is flexed to thereby bias said clamping jaws in a closed position.

3. The combination as defined in claim 2, wherein:

said locking means comprises an elongated lever arm having a first end pivotally connected to said elongated handle and having attachment points located thereon for attaching the first end of said second connector thereto, said lever arm beng adapted to be aligned with the longitudinal axis of said elongated handle when it is in its locked position with the second end of said lever arm being in close proximity to said handle grip, and said attachment points for the first end of said second connector being positioned on said lever arm in such a manner that when said lever arm is aligned with the longitudinal axis of said elongated handle the attachment points are below the longitudinal axis of said elongated handle so that the tension in said second connector caused by said coil spring means biases said lever arm into engagement with said elongated handle, whereby the coaction of said locking means, said connecting means and said actuating means retains said clamping jaws closed.

References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 25 ANDRES H. NIELSEN, Primary Examiner 

